Bottle labeling machine



Dec. 12, 1939. G. M. BINER 2,182,785

' BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l INENTOR. GEORGE M. B/NE/P A TTORNEY Dec. 12, 1939. G. M. BINER 2,182,785

BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE Filed March 17, 19.37 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 GEORGEM. B/NER W X W A T ORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE George M. Biner, Phoenix, Ariz.

Application March 17, 1937, Serial No. 131,273

15 Claims.

Reference is made to my co-pending application Serial No. 149,123, filed June 19, 1937.

My invention relates to bottle labeling machines and has for its objects the provision of a machine of simplified structure having a minimum number of parts, whereby its operation, cost of manufacture, and cost of maintenance is minimized; a second object is to provide a machine for the mechanical labeling of bottles wherein the motions of the various parts are confined to simple swinging movements, whereby guides and guide channels are eliminated; and a third object is to provide a mechanism of the type described wherein operation of the several parts is produced by means of simple cranks in a manner to eliminate the necessity for cams and cam followers and adjunctive guides, thereby reducing the cost of manufacture and simplifying adjustment of the various parts. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

I attain the foregoing objects by means of the construction, devices and combination of parts shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my machine; Fig. 2, a right hand end elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a fragmentary plan section thereof, taken substantially on line 33, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a portion of a vertical support thereof, showing the detail of the grip finger latching mechanism; Fig. 5, a 30 vertical section of the entire machine taken substantially on line 5-5, Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, a fragmentary view of the right end of the glue transfer roll assembly and its supports in the same operative position as shown in Fig. 5.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts in all views.

My machine consists generally of a rectangular supporting frame; a bottle rest to support bottles to be labeled; a label holder designed to hold 40 a stack of labels; a glue pot to contain a supply of adhesive glue; a gluev transfer roll to convey glue from the glue pot to the picker bars; picker bars to remove or pick labels from the said stack and convey them to the bottle to be labeled; a grip finger to ,hold the label in place on the bottle while the picker bars are removed; wipers to smooth or wipe the label down in place upon the surface of the bottle while it is held in place by the grip finger; and, lastly, mechanical mechanism for providing the necessary motions to the various moving parts, including a source of power to actuate same.

Referring to the drawings, numeral I designates, generally, the rectangular frame, composed of four vertical corner posts 2, a solid base 3 and suitable horizontal connecting members 4. At the right hand side of this frame, as viewed in Fig. 1, a bottle support 6 is provided which extends outward from the frame at its two sides 7 and has a center section 1 extending inwardly 5 into the frame and terminating in a bottle rest 8, having an angular back 9 to aid in centering the bottle on the rest. This construction, shown par;- ticularly in Fig. 3, provides a rest so that the bottle may be placed in a position to receivethe "l0 labels and at the same time, allow the wipers'to brush across the ends of the label, and face and sides of the bottle II], as will be hereinafter explained. I A label holder II is swingably supported on a transverse shaft I2 near the top of frame I. The

. supports I3 for this holder turn freely, or may be said to float, on shaft I2. At the opposite end of the label holder, a threaded bolt I4 is hingedly attached at I5 to the body of the holderand extends upwardly through the top member 4 of the frame where a wing nut I6 is attached to provide adjustment. By this arrangement, the label holder frame is swingably adjustable on the axis of shaft I2, which coincides. with the axis of movement of the picker bars hereinafter described. Labels I6 are stacked within a rectangular box ll, of suitable size, at the adjustable end of the label holder body, wherein they areretained by fingers I8 in a manner accord- '30 ing to the usual practice, and so that the bottommost label may be separately removed by the picker bars. Picker bars 20 are mounted on shaft I2, by hubs 2| to swing therewith, the arc of their swing being indicated by broken lines 22 in Fig. l, in which figure they are shown at the top of their swing engaging a label from stack I6. In Fig. 5, they are shown at the lower end of their swing (approximately ninety degrees), holding a label on the face of the bottle I0. They are po- 40 sitioned on shaft I2 to clear the sides of the bottle to be labeled, when at the lower limit of their swing. In order to provide this motion, shaft I2 is given an intermittent alternating torque motion through approximately ninety degrees. Depending upon the size and shape of the bottle to be labeled, picker bars 20 are provided with con.- tact plates 23 at their outer ends, which actually receive the adhesive glue, and contact the bottom most label in stack I6.

To supply these contact faces with glue, they are brought in rolling contact with glue transfer roll 24, which is supported on the swinging arms 25, attached at their lower ends to a transverse shaft 26, the axis of which is-so placed within the 55 frame work that the transfer roll moving through an are indicated by broken line 21 in Fig. l, swings from a position against transfer roll stops 28 at the right end of its swing, to and against a glue pot roller 29 at the left end of its swing. The extremities of these motions are indicated in solid lines in Figs. 5 and 1 respectively; also by the solid lines in Fig. 5, and the dotted outline 30 in the same figure. Glue pot roller 29 is supported within the vessel, or glue pot, El and caused to turn in a clock-wise direction by a pulley 32 driven by a belt 33. The glue pot or fountain contains liquid glue or adhesive, 34, of a tacky consistency, to the level shown in the section in Fig. 5.

A grip finger 40 is mounted on a bearing hub 4|, to turn freely 0r float on the transverse shaft 42. It is actuated by a crank 53, driven by a push rod 46. On the face which contacts the bottle, the grip finger is provided with a soft contact face 35, preferably made of soft rubber. In operation, the grip finger swings from the position shown in Fig. 1, upward to the position indicated by the dotted outline MS in said figure, and by the solid lines shown in Fig. 5, where it holds the label brought down from stack it by picker bars 20 in place upon the face of hottle ID. The lower end of push rod 45 engages a clevis 4'! on the end of the grip finger push rod actuating bar 48, mounted on, and to turn with, transverse shaft 49 by hub 50. The pin 5! which forms the actuating connection between push rod 44 and its actuating bar 45, passes through a slot 52 in said push rod, which, together with the coupling spring 53 surrounding said rod and fastened at its upper end by pin 54, permits the grip finger lflto be held in its upper, or actuating, position resiliently. The tension of spring 53 (which is an open spring) is adjusted so that, in its upper position, grip finger face 45 is pressed against the face of bottle ID with sufficient firmness to hold the label in place, but to in no wise crush the bottle. This tension may be adjusted by the opening of spring 53 itself, or in altering the vertical position of pin 54 on rod 46. A clevis 55 at the upper end of push rod ti l communicates its reciprocating motion to the crank 56, upon which the lower end of the grip finger is attached. The labels are smoothed in place upon the bottle by a pair of wipers 50, which I providein the form of brushes shaped as partial sectors of a circle, supported on, and attached to resilientlyturn with, shaft 42, by hub 6!, connected through tortional flexing springs 62 to said shaft. The bristles 53 of each of these wipers point inwardly toward bottle I 0, and the back of the bristles, which constitutes the body of the wiper, is positioned so that the bristles brush across the face of the label as placed on the bottle, smoothing it down against the face and sides thereof. Theirmotion is effected by the simple rotation of shaft 42 on which they are mounted.

To provide acceleration during that portion of the revolution of shaft 42 just preceding the wiping operation, a horizontal wiper latching bar 36 connects the two vertical transfer roll supports 25, and extends outward to form a latch contact 31 to engage the on-coming edge of the wipers 60, as they rotate as shown. Thispermits the wipers to be positioned on their shaft so that a longer time is given for the removal of thelabeled bottle and the placing of a bottle to be labeled. Their position being in a somewhat advanced position on the shaft-to that which it would otherwise have to be. Upon reaching latch contacting position they are retained until the picker bars move out of the way. When released they spring forward and immediately commence the wiping operation.

To provide the various motions necessary to complete the cycle of operations of the several parts above described, a system of cranks, connecting rods and their respective cross heads is provided. Attached at the left end of shaft 6;. as shown in Fig. 2, is a driving crank 65, coupied through a connecting rod 66 to a driven crank 6'? on shaft [2. The throw of crank 65 is gauged so that crank 6? will move through approximately ninety degrees, thus giving shaft 12 an alternating rotary movement.

In Fig. l, crank 61 is shown at approximately the upper extreme of its motion. Connecting rod 66 is shown broken away in this figure, to

better illustrate the position with the other other :3

cranks on shaft I2.

The outermost of these cranks is glue transfer roll driving crank 66, keyed thereon and operating through connecting rod 69 to drive glue transfer roll driven crank it on shaft 26.

Cross head 7! on this connecting rod is provided with a slot to permit delayed action in the actuating of crank It. On the up stroke of crank 553, the crank pin on driven crank 76 slides in the slot E2 in cross head ii, while the glue the position shown in Fig. 5, where they are retained under the tension of spring it, Fig. 6, which is positioned on crank "5 at the opposite end of shaft 25, and is positioned across the dead center axis of said shaft to resiliently hold the glue transfer rolls in either of the two positions; that is, either against stops 28 or in contact with glue pot roll 29. At this point it is noted that the left hand stop 23, as shown in ,Fig. 2, is broken away to better illustrate the .mechanism back of it.

, On the downward movement of crank 68, the cross head i! merely slides on the crank pin on crank it, since the movement of the picker bars has, by this time, thrown the glue transfer roll past dead center and they are then held against glue pot roll 29 under the influence of spring M.

The innermost crank on shaft l2, which I call the grip finger driving crank ii, is also keyed to turn therewith. Through connecting rods l8 and crank 19, this reciprocating motion is communicated to shaft 49, on which grip finger actuating bar it is aflixed. Normally, grip finger actuating bar 48 is down in the position indicated in Fig. 1. However, as crank ll traveling counter- .clock-wise in the direction of the arrow approaches the dotted outline 86, the delayed motion cross head 8| actuates the crank pin on crank 19 to move it to the position indicated by the dotted outline 82, which results in moving bar 48 to the position indicated by the dotted outline83; Fig. 1, This is the same position as indicated in solid lines in Fig. 5.

At -thisterminus of itsmovement, shaft #9 In the last portion is held in position by the engagement of a single toothed ratchet 84 with a pawl latch 85, which is attached to the right hand supporting leg of frame I, as view in Fig. 2. Details of this latch mechanism are shown in Fig. 4, wherein it is in releasing position. Latch 85 is resiliently held to engage ratchet 84 by a spring 26, and is moved out of engaging position by a cam 81, carried on shaft 42. With shaft 49 and bar 48 in the position indicated in Fig. 5, grip finger 40, being swung upward, is held against bottle It]. When shaft 42 assumes the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, cam 81 trips latching bar 85, releaslng ratchet 84, thus permitting grip finger actuating bar 48 to return to the position indicated in these figures, by reason of its weight and the return spring 88.

Shaft 42 is driven in a clock-wise direction, as indicated by the arrows, by means of a belt passing over pulley SI thereon and receiving motion from a driving pulley 92 on a counter shaft 93, which is, in turn, driven by a belt 94 connecting pulley 95 on said shaft to motor 96. A smaller pulley 9'! on shaft 93 accommodates belt 33, driving glue pot roll as above explained. The rotary motion of the wiper brushes 60 is indicated by the broken line 98.

Operation of the machine is as follows:

Starting at an initial point as indicated in Fig. l, with bottle [0 having just received a label and wipers moving out of position and away from the bottle, and grip finger 48 being released, bottle l0 may be removed and replaced, manually, by a bottle to be labeled. After this is done, picker bars 20 having just received a fresh label from the stack l6, move downward to the position indicated in Fig. 5, whereby they carry the label, whose position is indicated by numeral 99, to the face of bottle I0. Grip finger 40 is then actuated through the mechanism above described, and holds the label in place while the picker bars start their motion upward, leaving the label coated with liquid adhesive glue where it has been in contact with plates 23.

In the meantime, glue transfer roll 24 having received a fresh supply of liquid adhesive glue by rolling on glue pot roll 29, has been moved to the position indicated in Fig. 5. In this position it is free to contact plates 23 on picker bars 20 as they move upward. The intersection of the arcs of their movements, as indicated by broken .lines 22 and 21, indicates their relative positions during the upward movement of the picker bars. From this construction and relative position of these parts, it is obvious that the plates 23 on the picker bars will contact roll 24, which will roll across their face as they move it toward the left. This moistens the face of plates 23 with a fresh supply of glue. 7

After picker bars have moved out of the way of the motion of rotary brushes 6|], these brushes released from latch 36 by the motion of glue transfer roll supports 25, rotate toward the face of bottle l0, as above explained. As shaft 42 continues to rotate, these brush wipers smooth the label in place, while it is being held against the face of the bottle by the resilient face 45 of grip finger 48. As soon as the brushes have passed out of contact with the bottle, cam 81 actuates latch 85 and the grip finger releases the bottle so that it may be manually removed with the label affixed thereon. A new bottle is then placed on rest 8 and the cycle of operations is repeated.

While I have herewith described the preferred form of my machine, it is obviousto those familiar with the art, that various changes and modifications can be made to adapt the machine to various sizes and shapes of bottles, or other containers to be labeled. Thus it is conceivable of bottle II] by an alternating of reciprocating motion in brushing by the sides of the bottle as herewith shown. This construction might be particularly adapted to labels applied to a flat faced bottle. i M

.It is to be understood that although bottle is mentionedin the title hereof, in this description and in the hereinafter. claims, the word "bottle is deemed to include other than glass containers; e. g., can containers.

All these changes and modifications, however, would remain within the spirit and conception of my invention as herewith disclosed, and I, therefore, wish to be limited only by the following claims. I

I claim: v

1. In a machine of the classdescribed, a pair of wipers positioned on either side of the face of the bottle to be labeled and supported on a rotating shaft and having" pliant bristles attached to their opposing faces, said wipers being rotatively supported on said shaft resiliently by a torque tension spring, and latching means cooperative therewith to detain the rotation of said wipers at a pre-determined position during 5,.

a portion of the period of their rotation.

2. In a bottle labeling machine, a shaft, a wiper loosely supported on the shaft and positioned to press a label upon a bottle, a tortional spring connection between the shaft and the wiper, and means operatively connected to actuate the shaft toeffect the label pressing operation.

3. In a bottle labeling machine, a shaft/opposed wipers loosely supported on the shaft and positioned to press a label upon a bottle, tortional spring connection means between the shaft and the wipers, and means operatively connected to actuate the shaft to effect the label pressing operation.

4. In a bottle labeling machine, a shaft, opposed wipers loosely supported on the shaft, pliant bristles on the opposed faces of the wipers to press a label upon a bottle, tortional spring connection means between the shaft and the wipers, and means operatively connected to actuate the shaft to effect the label pressing operation.

5. In a bottle labeling machine, a rotary shaft, opposed wipers loosely supported on the shaft and positioned to press a labelupon a bottle, tortional spring connection means between the shaft and the wipers, and means to rotate the shaft continually in a given direction.

6. In a bottle labeling machine, wiping means positioned to press a .label upon a bottle by movement in the cycle of operation of said means, mechanism to actuate said means to effect said movement, and spring means arranged to be placed under tension prior to said movement of the wiping means, and said spring means being connected to cause a snap action of the wiping during a portion of its rotation, mechanism to efiect such rotation of the wiping means, and means to retard the rotation of the wiping means temporarily, prior to the label pressing action.

8. In a bottle labeling machine, rotary wiping means disposed to press a label upon a bottle during a portion of its rotation, mechanism to effect such rotation of the wiping means, means to cause a lag of the wiping means prior to the label pressing action, and spring means to accelerate the rotation of the wiping means during the label-pressing action.

9. In a bottle labeling machine, wiping means positioned to press a label upon a bottle, mechanism to supply adhesive to labels for bottles, in-

cluding an adhesive transfer roller, a swinging support for said roller, and a stop onsaid support, the stop being arranged to oppose movement of the wiping means when the roller is swung to an adhesive transferring position.

10. In a bottle labeling machine, the combination of a supporting frame having a bottle rest, of a magazine for labels, picker bar means mounted to move from a label-contacting position at the magazine to the face of a bottle on the bottle rest, a glue fountain, a glue transfer roll mounted to move from the glue fountain to a position contacting the picker bar means, to transfer glue thereto, wiping means positioned to press a label upon a bottle by a predetermined movement, and a stop, controlled by the glue transfer roll, opposing movement of the wiping means to a bottle on the rest until the picker bar means has moved away from such bottle. 7

11. A bottle labeling machine, having picker bar means to transfer a gummed label from a magazine to a bottle on a rest and having a roll to transfer adhesive from a fountain to the picker bar means characterized by an over-center spring means to snap said roll to either of its said positions, the spring causing the roll to move to a position in which it efiects resilient pressure of the roll upon the picker bar means to insure firm contact of the one with the other.

.12. A bottle labeling machine, having picker bar means to transfer a gummed label from a magazine to a bottle on a rest and having a roll to transfer adhesive from a fountain to the picker bar means, characterized by spring means to resiliently maintain the roll in its position at the fountain, to insure a good transfer of adhesive from the fountain to the roll.

13. A bottle labeling machine, having picker bar means to transfer a gummed label from a magazine to a bottle on a rest and having a roll to transfer adhesive from a fountain to the picker bar means, characterized by an overcenter spring means to snap said roll to either of its said positions, depending upon which side of dead center the roll is disposed, the picker bar means being mounted to move the roll past dead center, where by the roll snaps to its position at the adhesive fountain.

14. A bottlelabeling machine having picker bar means to transfer a gummed label from a magazine to a bottle on a rest and having a roll to transfer adhesive from a fountain to the picker bar means, characterized by means to delay the action of the roll in transferring adhesive to the picker bar means until the picker bar means has transferred a gummed label from the magazine to a bottle on the rest, to avoid applying adhesive to the outer face of the label.

15. A bottle labeling machine, having picker bar means to transfer a gummed label from a magazine to a bottle on a rest and having a roll to transfer adhesive from a fountain to the picker bar means, characterized by slotted driving means for actuating the roll in transferring adhesive to the picker bar means, the slot being so arranged that the roll is not so actuated while the picker bar means is transferring a gummed label from the magazine to a bottle on the rest, to avoid applying adhesive to the outer face of the label.

GEORGE M. BINER. 

